Heavyweight

While last month's rematch between Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was going to be a memorable one no matter what, it's hard to say that anyone imagined the outcome that occurred.

The first meeting between the two submission specialists took place in December 2008, right after both finished up stints as opposing coaches on a season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show. The fight never hit the ground, and Mir used surprisingly superior striking to become the first fighter to ever stop Nogueira.

Since their original clash, Mir had continued to remain among the top heavyweights in the world, while Nogueira battled injuries and brutal losses alike. Many pundits thought that Mir would use his power to stop Nogueira again, in a similar fashion as UFC 92. Mir stopped Nogueira, but not with strikes, and made history in the process.

UFC President Dana White has revealed that his organization is currently looking at summer dates for a UFC heavyweight title showdown between champion Junior dos Santos and challenger Alistair Overeem as well as a potential rematch between longtime middleweight king Anderson Silva and bitter rival Chael Sonnen.

The UFC's head honcho commented on the matchups during last night's premiere episode of "UFC Tonight" on FUEL TV. According to White, the UFC is looking at holding the heavyweight title fight at some point in the summer. If Sonnen were to get past Mark Munoz at UFC on Fox 2 later this month, the same could be said for the middleweight division's biggest grudge match.

"Hopefully, this summer. This summer is probably when it's going to go down," White said of dos Santos and Overeem. "Alistair wants to take some time off. Junior is ready but needs to get some training in. So hopefully, this summer."

The Daily Recap is a collection of news and notes from around the web that will be posted at the end of each day. Bout signings, injury news and much more can all be found here.

— The UFC today announced a pair of bouts for UFC 145, which is slated for the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on March 24. Mark Hominick will attempt to bounce back from a devastating knockout loss to Chan Sung Jung in a featherweight bout against California fight scene veteran Eddie Yagin. In addition, skilled grappler Mark Bocek will lock horns in a pivotal lightweight affair against "Ultimate Fighter" alumnus Matt Wiman. [UFC.com]

— Just one day after it was announced that Ken Stone would face Mike Easton on the undercard of UFC on FX 1, the Massachusetts native has been forced to withdraw from the bout due to an undisclosed injury suffered during a recent training session. A replacement opponent for Easton has not yet been named. [MMA Weekly]

The Daily Recap is a collection of news and notes from around the web that will be posted at the end of each day. Bout signings, injury news and much more can all be found here.

— Strikeforce's first event of the new year, which features middleweight champion Luke Rockhold putting his belt on the line against longtime UFC veteran Keith Jardine, will be part of Showtime's annual free preview weekend, which begins Friday, January 6 and runs through Sunday, January 8. Additional bouts set for the televised portion of the card include Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal returning against Lorenz Larkin and Robbie Lawler facing Adlan Amagov. [Showtime]

— Another edition of UFC Primetime has been set to profile next month's interim UFC welterweight title bout between former Strikeforce champ Nick Diaz and one-time WEC belt holder Carlos Condit. It will be the first time that the three-episode mini-series has aired on FX. The first episode will air on January 20 and subsequent ones will premiere on January 27 and February 3. [UFC.com]

Former longtime UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz has accomplished almost everything in mixed martial arts, including recently saving his career with the organization.

However, at 36 years-of-age and a nearly 14-year career plagued with ups and downs and in recent years, an array of injuries, "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" says that he has almost had enough.

Watch and listen to Ortiz discuss his potential retirement next year as well as comments from UFC 140 main card fighters Jon Jones, Lyoto Machida, Frank Mir, the Nogueira brothers and others after the jump.

It's hard to believe that another major UFC event is upon us, but UFC 140 is just days away. Emanating from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the UFC's second visit to what could be MMA's biggest fan base features Jon Jones making the second defense of the UFC light heavyweight title against the ever-elusive Lyoto Machida.

Other high-profile main card bouts include a pivotal rematch between former heavyweight champions and opposing "TUF" coaches Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as well as Tito Ortiz attempting to stave off retirement once more against the younger Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

After the jump is a preview of the main card, including a breakdown of the storylines leading into each fight as well as what to look for during the bouts.

The Daily Recap is a collection of news and notes from around the web that will be posted at the end of each day. Bout signings, injury news and much more can all be found here.

— UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos underwent successful surgery this morning to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee that was suffered in preparation for his victorious title bout against Cain Velasquez on UFC on Fox last month. “My knee surgery was great. I’m feeling very well. No pain and just resting a bit," dos Santos wrote on Twitter. The Brazilian is expected to return to the gym in the next month or so. [Sherdog.com]

— Team Alpha Male member Danny Castillo has agreed to replace an injured Ramsey Nijem in a lightweight affair against Anthony Njokuani at UFC 141 on December 30. Castillo recently rebounded with a stoppage win over Shamar Bailey, while Njokuani last won a unanimous nod over Andre Winner in July. [UFC.com]

It's hard to believe, but UFC 140 is already upon us. The event, which is headlined by Jon Jones making his second defense of the UFC light heavyweight title, emanates from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada this Saturday night.

Jones will put his belt on the line against former champion Lyoto Machida, who secured another crack at the title courtesy of a highlight-reel KO of UFC hall-of-famer Randy Couture back in April. UFC 140 will also feature an important rematch between former champions Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as well as a battle between younger brother Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and UFC icon Tito Ortiz.

An embedded video after the jump features "Countdown to UFC 140" which previews the three high-profile contests that will take place this weekend.

Despite continual speculation that Strikeforce will make like other Zuffa-owned organizations and fold into the UFC in the very near future, longtime promotional figurehead Scott Coker still has hope for his creation.

Reports were published earlier this week that the organization was set to renew its contract with Showtime, albeit under some different terms. According to Coker, negotiations are ongoing, but nothing has been signed yet.

"There’s nothing to announce but I’m optimistic at this point," Coker said on a Tuesday conference call to promote Strikeforce's next event on December 17. "We’ll have to wait and see. I think that things are going well and I think that we’ll have something shortly.